Minutes for Meeting of 04-02-2003

HOWDY RAMBLERS-

    -Ramblers meet every Wednesday at 5pm in the Forbes Bldg. in room 307.
    -FYI: THE PARKING LOT BEHIND PARK STUDENT UNION IS CLOSED DUE TO 
CONSTRUCTION
(IMAGINE THAT) SO SPECIFIC MEETING PLACES WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE HIKE
LEADER.
    -Don't worry if you don't have a car. We carpool from our meeting place.
	
PAST HIKES:

    -Erroneously, I forgot to include Dapper Dan our illustrious president
in the review of the Bryce/Zion Spring Break Trip. After playing phone tag
and car tag, Dan finally found the group in Zion Canyon and accompanied us
for a night. While Dan was in the area he hiked to Observation Point and
up Hidden Canyon. He also drove to Bryce for a day and checked out all the
lookout points. Once more, I apologize Dan for my inexcusable memory lapse:)

    -Wolfgang, this past Sunday, accompanied the Sky Island Alliance on a
wildlife tracking outing. They trekked around the Audubon Research Ranch
looking for tracks, and found mostly coyote prints.

    -Will hiked along the Pima Canyon Trail and saw quite a few wildflowers
and insects. The area was much greener than he had expected.

    -Curvin went to the San Diego zoo over the weekend. He enjoyed it but
does not recommend going right now because the bird exhibits are closed because
of the New Castle Virus and most of the primate exhibits are closed due to
remodeling projects.

    -Steve and Mary hiked along some forest service roads to Chiva Falls
on Sunday. It can be tricky to find the falls because of all the intersecting
roads in the area. They did some rappelling off a rock situated above the
falls. Later they drove down to Tanque Verde Falls and did some scrambling
down the river to get to the falls.

FUTURE HIKES:

    -Curvin's hike:As mentioned during the meeting, I'm leading a hike this
Sunday (April 6th) to Mount Wrightson in the Santa Ritas. It's about a 
4000-foot elevation gain and 10 or 12 miles roundtrip. We'll be taking the shorter
but steeper trail and having lunch at the top. This is the highest peak around,
so views are 360 degrees and spectacular. We'll meet at 7:30 Sunday morning
at the current Ramblers meeting place, which is the short wall between the
Tyndall Parking Garage and the Baptist Church, on the northeast corner of
the intersection of 4th Street and Tyndall, or across from the clock tower
of the Tyndall Parking Garage. If you want to go along, be at the meeting
place by 7:30 with a lunch, plenty of water, sunscreen, camera and film.

    -Will's hike: I'm planning a hike to Atascosa lookout, about 1.5 hrs.
from Tucson to the south, near Sycamore Canyon. From pictures it looks to
have some pretty spectacular scenery. It's about a 5 mile round trip hike,
but quite steep. I would like to leave saturday at 9AM from the wall across
from Tyndall garage, probably returning around dusk. If you want to go, please
rsvp, or if you can't go this weekend but would go next weekend, please tell
me that too because next weekend also works for me. williamnelson@EARTHLINK.NET

    - Steve's announcement: A bunch of NAU hiking club members are headed
to Rocky Point for a weekend of fun in the sun and surf. We met some of them
at the Arizona Hot Springs over spring break. There are two groups going
down, one leaving Thursday night and camping in Organ National Park, the other
Friday and heading straight through. They will spend one night near
Manny's and the other at a wilderness beach and returning Sunday. If
you are interested, email me and I'll give you the contact 
info sanewcomb@yahoo.com

    -Join the Arizona Wilderness Coalition and the Bureau of Land Management
for a day of service in Ironwood Forest National Monument. What: Road restoration
and trash clean up project in the Ironwood Forest National Monument with
the Bureau of Land Management and the Arizona Wilderness Coalition.
Why: Ironwood Forest National Monument is experiencing a tremendous amount
of undocumented immigrant traffic. This activity is creating illegal
wildcat roads and leaving literally tons of trash in our National Monument.
The Bureau of Land Management is doing the best they can to keep it under
control, but they need our help. When: Saturday April 26th, at 8 a.m., until 
we either clean it all up, it gets dark, or we are exhausted! 
Some people will be camping out on the
monument the night before call for more details. Contact information below.
Where: We'll be meeting at a staging site along the Agua Dulce Road, just
south of Avra Valley Road, inside Ironwood Forest National Monument (NW of
Tucson). Exit I-10 at Avra Valley Road (Exit 242), and head west on Avra
Valley Road. Continue west on Avra Valley Road, past the airport and past
the Pump Station Road intersection. Approximately 17 miles west of I-10 on
Avra Valley Road you will see a beat-up mailbox on the south (left) side of
the road. Turn left onto the dirt road with the mailbox. This is the Agua
Dulce Road. Travel south on this dirt road no more than 1-1.5 miles. The
staging area will be highly visible on the side of this road.
Note: AWC will do its best to set out RED and WHITE STRIPED flagging the
day before to help identify this dirt road, but please don't count on this.
Many of the smugglers use flagging too, although we have never seen them
use the RED and WHITE striped style.
What to bring: Plenty of water, (at least a gallon, we will provide ice
water and treats) a lunch, sturdy pair of shoes (closed-toe shoes are
required), and clothes you don't mind getting dirty. Long sleeves and pants
are appropriate, despite the warm temperatures. BLM will provide work
gloves (if you do not have your own), dust masks, latex gloves, pick-up
sticks, trash bags, rakes, shovels, and other tools. If you have a shovel
or rake, please bring them along as we might be short on tools.
WARNING!! This is an area known to be inhabited by bees! Please do not
bring sodas or any drinks with sugar. Or, if you are allergic, this is NOT
the service project for you.
What to expect: The temperature will most likely be 90s and higher. There
will be a range of activities from physically demanding to moderately
demanding. We will be working with dirt and picking up trash. You should
expect to feel extremely gratified afterward for your contribution to our
public lands.To attend, contact: Jason Williams (928)-717-6076 or 
jwilliams@prescott.edu.

    -Curvin will be spending the entire summer exploring Alaska. If you would
like to spend any amount of time hiking, camping, and exploring Alaska this
summer, and you can transport yourself to Seward's Folly (the state of Alaska)
please feel free to check out Curvin's website and contact him to set up
some trips. www.redundancydept.com.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

    -If you need the list of Ramblers gear or wants to borrow some, please
contact myself or Dan.
      maryft@email.arizona.edu and dcarroll@u.arizona.edu